Lifeguards said they rescued more than 200 people from beaches in Virginia and North Carolina over the July 4 holiday.
Tom Gill, director of Virginia Beach Life Saving Services, said lifeguards pulled more than 180 beachgoers from the water. report Monday.
“This is a high number for us,” Gill said, adding that the numbers were high “even on a holiday weekend.”
Lifeguards rescued 62 swimmers on Saturday and 120 on Sunday, the newspaper said. Gill said at least three rescued people inhaled water.
Authorities in neighboring North Carolina rescued 21 beachgoers from Hatteras Island, according to the Virginian Pilot.
Due to strong rip currents, lifeguards pulled about 200 swimmers out of the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia and North Carolina over the holiday weekend. https://t.co/mdJUE3yzWy
— AP Climate (@AP_Climate) July 6, 2023
“People want to be in the water because it’s hot and they have to be in it,” Gill told the media. Virginia Beach Life Services has been flying red rip current flags throughout the weekend, warning swimmers to stay out of the water.
Gill stressed the importance of swimmers asking lifeguards about water conditions in the event of a red flag, according to the newspaper. (Related: Eagle Scouts save swimmer from heart attack while training for lifeguard certification)
A teenage swimmer reportedly drowned in College Creek near Williamsburg, Virginia over the weekend, and two rescues were carried out at Buckroe Beach in the Hamptons. according to WTKR.
